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Comparison · 2 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

Gemma 4 26B A4B IT vs Gemma 4 E2B IT

Gemma 4 E2B IT comes out ahead, 79 to 71 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.

  1. Google

    Gemma 4 26B A4B IT

    Released Apr 2, 2026

    71/100
    • ECI141.9
    • Price$0.10 / $0.38
    • Context262K
    Full specs Remove Gemma 4 26B A4B IT
  2. Our pick

    Google

    Gemma 4 E2B IT

    Released Apr 2, 2026

    79/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.07 / $0.09
    • Context131K
    Full specs Remove Gemma 4 E2B IT

  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

Gemma 4 E2B IT is our pick

Gemma 4 E2B IT is the better all-round choice, scoring 79/100 against Gemma 4 26B A4B IT (71). It leads on price and inputs & features. Gemma 4 26B A4B IT wins on context window. The score weighs price 50%, inputs & features 30%, context window 20%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.

  • CapabilityNot enough dataNo independent benchmark covers every model here yet
  • Lowest priceGemma 4 E2B ITGemma 4 E2B IT $0.075 · Gemma 4 26B A4B IT $0.17 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextGemma 4 26B A4B ITGemma 4 26B A4B IT 262,144 · Gemma 4 E2B IT 131,072 tokens
  • Widest inputsGemma 4 E2B ITGemma 4 26B A4B IT: Text, Images · Gemma 4 E2B IT: Text, Images, Audio
  • Self-hostingAll open weightsEvery model here can be downloaded and run on your own hardware
How the score is built
MeasureWeightGemma 4 26B A4B ITGemma 4 E2B IT
Price50%86100
Inputs & features30%7080
Context window20%3724
Overall100%71/10079/100

Left out because at least one model lacks the data: capability. The remaining weights were rescaled.

02 — Side by side

Every spec in one table

Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.

Gemma 4 26B A4B IT vs Gemma 4 E2B IT specifications side by side
SpecificationGemma 4 26B A4B ITGoogleGemma 4 E2B ITGoogle
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)141.9—
ECI rank#93 of 148—
GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions73.2%—
OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics82.2%—
Price per million tokens
Input$0.10$0.07 (best)
Output$0.38$0.09 (best)
Cached input——
Blended (3:1)$0.17$0.075 (best)
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceMedian of 23 providersMedian of 2 providers
Limits
Context window262,144 tokens (best)131,072 tokens
Max output32,768 tokens (best)8,192 tokens
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesYesYes
PDFsNoNo
AudioNoYes
VideoNoNo
ReasoningYesYes
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputYesYes
Availability
WeightsOpenOpen
API model IDgemma-4-26b-a4b-it—
API providers26 (best)2
ReleasedApr 2, 2026Apr 2, 2026
Knowledge cutoff——
03 — Cost

What would a month cost?

Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.

  • Gemma 4 26B A4B IT$1.76
  • Gemma 4 E2B IT$0.88
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Gemma 4 26B A4B IT or Gemma 4 E2B IT?

Gemma 4 E2B IT is the better all-round choice, scoring 79/100 against Gemma 4 26B A4B IT (71). It leads on price and inputs & features. Gemma 4 26B A4B IT wins on context window. The score weighs price 50%, inputs & features 30%, context window 20%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.

Which is cheaper, Gemma 4 26B A4B IT or Gemma 4 E2B IT?

Gemma 4 E2B IT is cheaper at $0.07 input / $0.09 output per million tokens (median across 2 API providers). Gemma 4 26B A4B IT costs $0.10 input / $0.38 output per million tokens (median across 23 API providers). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.075 per million tokens for Gemma 4 E2B IT versus $0.17 for Gemma 4 26B A4B IT (2.3× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Gemma 4 26B A4B IT has an ECI of 141.9 and Gemma 4 E2B IT has not been scored yet.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Gemma 4 26B A4B IT and Gemma 4 E2B IT yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. Both support tool calling for agent workflows.

Which has the bigger context window?

Gemma 4 26B A4B IT has the largest context window at 262,144 tokens, against 131,072 for Gemma 4 E2B IT. Maximum output per response: Gemma 4 26B A4B IT up to 32,768, Gemma 4 E2B IT up to 8,192 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Gemma 4 26B A4B IT accepts text and images; Gemma 4 E2B IT accepts text, images and audio. Gemma 4 E2B IT handles the widest range of inputs.

Are any of these open source?

Yes, both publish their weights, so you can self-host them.

Which is newer?

Gemma 4 26B A4B IT is the newest, released Apr 2, 2026. Gemma 4 E2B IT came out Apr 2, 2026.

How do you decide the winner?

Each model gets a 0–100 score on capability (50%, independent benchmark results); price (25%, blended price per million tokens (3 input : 1 output), log scale); inputs & features (15%, image, PDF, audio and video input, tool calling, structured output and reasoning); context window (10%, maximum tokens per request, log scale). Dimensions missing for any model are dropped and the remaining weights rescaled, so every model is judged on the same evidence. Specs and prices come from public model listings and the labs’ own API pages; capability scores come from independent benchmark runs. Data updated Oct 4, 2026.

05 — Keep comparing

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